Philosophy & Ethics

We create opportunities for non-performers to "play roles" for the purpose of learning and fun. Children have license to play. As we mature, we take on roles until we forget that we are playing and come to think of our roles as "who we are." At IPL we create experiences that reestablish the license to play in ways that are both illuminating and empowering.

The power of fiction lies in the opportunity to take risks without consequence. By allowing participants to play as characters other than themselves, they are freed to "walk in another's shoes" and thus build understanding beyond their own personal perspectives.

Our purpose is to empower our participants, so we never trick people into thinking that what they are experiencing is real (as in Punk'd or Candid Camera) Participants always know that they are playing in a fiction. When people choose to participate, they are ultimately empowered because it was they who made the choice to play.

We recognize that interactive performance can be deeply compelling, so we do not use our work to indoctrinate participants into a particular point-of-view. Participants always walk away with perspectives that are theirs, and theirs alone.

There will always be useful technologies developed that eliminate the need for human interaction. At IPL, our approach is to use technology in ways that will augment the human-to-human experience, not replace it. Unintended consequences can occur when we design to the limitations of the technology rather than the capacity of our humanity. At IPL, we look for ways to allow our humanity to guide the development of technology.